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| United States Patent |
6,131,846
|
|
Muenster
|
October 17, 2000
|
Device for holding the leading end of the wire on a stapling wire supply
reel
Abstract
A supply reel for staple wire is provided with a holder on which the
leading end of the staple wire is held by clamping. The holder is held
positively and/or non-positively on the reel flanges of the supply reel.
The holder is configured to be removable from the supply reel and
placeable on a finishing unit. Upon placement onto a finishing unit,
clamping of the staple wire is abolished. Arranged on the holder are
oil-impregnated felt pads between which the staple wire is guided. The
holder is provided at both of its ends with flexible guide tubes which
prevent bending of the leading end of the wire and protect the user from
injury.
| Inventors:
|
Muenster; Bruno (Bad Ditzenbach, DE)
|
| Assignee:
|
Eastman Kodak Company (Rochester, NY)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
197731 |
| Filed:
|
November 20, 1998 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Dec 06, 1997[DE] | 197 54 205 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
242/580 |
| Intern'l Class: |
B65H 019/29 |
| Field of Search: |
242/580,125.2
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
| 2536939 | Jan., 1951 | Johnson | 242/580.
|
| 3333783 | Aug., 1967 | Guernet | 242/580.
|
| 4715557 | Dec., 1987 | Rushing et al. | 242/580.
|
| 4880182 | Nov., 1989 | Gelfman | 242/580.
|
| 5485968 | Jan., 1996 | Fujioka | 242/125.
|
| 5549257 | Aug., 1996 | Sanda et al. | 242/580.
|
| 5603469 | Feb., 1997 | Stocchi | 242/580.
|
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 169943 | Nov., 1904 | DE.
| |
| 197 12 862 A1 | Mar., 1997 | DE.
| |
Primary Examiner: Walsh; Donald P.
Assistant Examiner: Marcelo; Emmanuel M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Kessler; Lawrence P.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Device for holding the outer leading end of a staple wire coiled on a
supply reel, the supply reel having reel flanges and a reel core, and the
reel core being provided with a bore for rotatably mounting the supply
reel on a spindle, characterized in that the outer leading end of the wire
is attachable, in a manner secured against slipping out of place, to a
removable holder, said removable holder being removably mounted to one of
said reel flanges of said supply reel, and wherein the holder has an
elastic clamping element which encloses an openable carrier on which are
mounted oil-impregnated felt pads between which the staple wire is passed
in its longitudinal direction; and that the clamping element is provided
on an end arranged in the longitudinal direction of the staple wire with
clamping jaws, movable in opposite directions, for releasably clamping the
leading end of the wire.
2. Device as defined in claim 1, wherein the leading end of the wire is
attachable to the holder by means of a releasable clamping element.
3. Device as defined in claim 1, wherein the elastic clamping element is
attached to a U-shaped elastic snap on bracket which overlaps the inside
width of the reel flange.
4. Device as defined in claim 1, wherein an elastic guide tube is attached
at each of the two ends of the holder with respect to the longitudinal
direction of the staple wire.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The invention claims priority of German Patent Application No. 19754205.0,
filed Dec. 06, 1997, titled "Device For Holding The Leading End Of The
Wire On A Stapling Wire Supply Reel," by Bruno Muenster.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention refers to a device for holding the outer leading end of a
staple wire coiled on a supply reel, the supply reel having reel flanges
and a reel core, and the reel core being provided with a bore for
rotatable mounting of the supply reel on a spindle of the device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
German Patent No. DE-PS 169 943 discloses a staple wire reel of the generic
type in which a spring-loaded brake element, resting on the outer turn of
wire, is provided. This brake element is attached to a protective cover
which partially surrounds the staple wire reel when installed, and serves
to brake the rotation of the reel and prevent uncontrolled detachment of
the leading end of the wire. Outside the protective cover, however, the
leading end of the wire on the staple wire reel is not secured against
detachment, so that it can become bent, and there moreover exists a risk
of injury from the protruding wire end.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems
set forth above. Briefly summarized, according to one aspect of the
present invention, a device for holding the outer leading end of a staple
wire coiled on a supply reel, the supply reel having reel flanges and a
reel core, and the reel core being provided with a bore for rotatably
mounting the supply reel on a spindle of the device, characterized in that
the outer leading end of the wire is attachable, in a manner secured
against slipping out of place, to a removable holder which is continuously
joined to the staple wire and can be joined positively and/or
non-positively to the supply reel.
These and other aspects, objects, features, and advantages of the present
invention will be more clearly understood and appreciated from a review of
the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and
appended claims, and by reference to the accompanying drawings.
ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECT OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the invention to hold the outer leading end of the wire
on a staple wire reel such that it is held in a non-injurious fashion,
secured against bending and unwinding, and in a manner suitable for simple
threading-in. According to the invention, this object is attained in that
the outer leading end of the wire is attachable, in a manner secured
against slipping out of place, to a removable holder which is continuously
joined to the staple wire and can be joined positively and/or
non-positively to the supply reel.
Advantageously, the holder has an elastic clamping element which encloses a
carrier on which are mounted oil-impregnated felt pads between which the
staple wire is guided, and which is provided with claw-like clamping jaws
for releasably clamping the leading end of the wire.
Advantageously, the elastic clamping element is attached to a U-shaped snap
on bracket which overlaps the inside width of the reel flange and is
attachable positively and/or non-positively to the outer flanks of the
reel flange.
The holder comprises, moreover, at both of its ends elastic guide tubes
which enclose the leading end of the staple wire to such an extent that it
can be attached, protected against bending, both to the supply reel and to
a wire guide of the device, e.g. a wire threading-in device.
Advantageously, the holder also prevents unwinding of the staple wire.
Because the leading end of the wire is arranged in protected fashion in a
guide tube, there is also no risk of injury, so that the supply reel can
be handled safely and easily. The holder also offers the advantage that a
supply reel which has already been positioned, e.g. for service purposes,
can be removed again even after the holder has been placed on the reel,
the leading end of the wire being once again secured and protected in the
same way.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a supply reel with a holder in place;
FIG. 2is an enlarged view of the holder according to FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a partial view of the holder according to FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a partial view of the holder according to FIG. 2, in the open
state;
FIG. 5 is the supply reel with the holder according to FIG. 1, partially
disassembled; and
FIG. 6 is the supply reel with the holder according to FIG. 1, in an
operative position.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used,
where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the
figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A supply reel 1 of a commercially available type has, in known fashion and
as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, reel flanges 1a and a reel core 1e with a bore
1b for rotatable mounting on a spindle 16 (see FIG. 6). Wound onto supply
reel 1 is staple wire 13, the inner end of which is attached in a known
manner (not shown) to the reel core. The outer end of staple wire 13 is
attached by clamping to a holder 2 evident from the Figures.
Holder 2, which as shown in FIG. 1, is placed onto reel flange 1a of supply
reel 1. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, holder 2 is provided with a clamping
element 3 and a snap on bracket 4, which are made of sheet spring steel
and are joined to one another by spot welding. Referring to FIG. 4,
clamping element 3 has, in its relaxed position, with an upper clamping
jaw 3a and a lower clamping jaw 3b which are joined to one another by a
strip having an opening 3d. Upper clamping jaw 3a has an upper opening 3f
with a notch 3c and is provided with a projection 3h. Lower clamping jaw
3b has a lower opening 3g and a projection 3i. Clamping element 3 is
furthermore provided with two tabs 3e which pass through snap on bracket 4
and provide mutual immobilization and lateral retention of a carrier 5 as
shown in FIG. 2. The upper and lower openings 3f and 3g, respectively, of
clamping element 3 are open toward the side in opposite directions from
one another, to allow the leading end of the wire to be threaded into
holder 2.
As shown in particular by FIG. 2, snap on bracket 4 joined to clamping
element 3 is provided with two V-shaped webs 4a which engage positively
and non-positively beneath an outer annular bead id of reel flange 1a as
shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 5, arranged on holder 2 is carrier 5, which is made of
plastic and has two shell-shaped halves 5a and 5b, not depicted in more
detail, arranged opposite one another, said halves being joined to one
another by a film hinge 5c (see FIG. 2) formed by a material constriction.
Carrier 5 is provided at its end faces with openings 5d for staple wire
13. Arranged in the shell-shaped halves 5a and 5b are oil-impregnated felt
pads 8 and 9 which serve to clean and lubricate staple wire 13.
Holder 2 is provided at each of its two ends with a flexible guide tube 6
and 7.
Referring to FIGS. 5, 3, and 4, holder 2 is assembled and handled as
follows: Guide tube 6 is inserted, from the inside of clamping element 3,
into hole 3d of clamping element 3 which is open as shown in FIG. 4, and
held in position by a flange 6a located on the end. The leading end of the
wire is then pushed into the flexible guide tube 6, and the open carrier
5, with felt pads 8, 9 in place, is closed over the leading end of the
wire. The leading end protruding out of carrier 5 is then pivoted to the
side into upper opening 3f until it is resting in notch 3c (FIGS. 3 and
4). Upper clamping jaw 3a is then pushed downward manually, thereby
placing the carrier in positive alignment between clamping jaws 3a, 3b.
The leading end of the wire can then be pivoted to the side into lower
opening 3g, and upper clamping jaw 3a is then released. The spring preload
which is thereby released clamps staple wire 13 against clamping jaws 3a,
3b so that it is immobilized and secured against slippage on holder 2. The
flexible guide tube 7 is slid over the leading end of the wire which
protrudes toward the front, and is secured non-positively on holder 2 by
being slid onto projection 3i. Holder 2 is then placed onto reel flange
1a, where it is held positively and non-positively on its outer annular
beads 1d (FIG. 1). The holder is also secured positively against lateral
slippage between radial ribs 1c on the outer flanks of supply reel 1.
The leading end of the wire is thus immobilized on supply reel 1 in a
manner secured against bending and unwinding, and is also arranged so as
to prevent injury to the user. When supply reel 1 is to be brought into
the operating position, it is placed on the stapling apparatus provided as
a complete unit shown in FIG. 1.
To illustrate the advantageous handling of supply reel 1 with holder 2 in
place, it will be described, for example, in conjunction with a
threading-in device 10 for staple wire of a stapling device as defined in
DE-PS 197 12 862.9. As depicted in FIG. 6, this threading-in device 10 has
a spindle 16 on which supply reel 1 is rotatably mounted. Once supply reel
1 has been fixed in position, holder 2 is pulled off reel flanges 1a, and
a flexible loop forming means 11, mounted on the device, is set in place,
where it is aligned positively by means of a U-shaped guide 4b of snap on
bracket 4 (see FIG. 2). By displacing holder 2 in the direction of the
arrow "A" (see FIG. 6), the holder 2 arrives under two holddown elements
15, attached at a distance from one another on a flexible loop forming
means 11, which push upper clamping jaw 3a downward so that the clamping
of staple wire 13 by clamping jaws 3a and 3b is abolished. In the course
of this displacement movement, projections 3h and 3i arrive between
holddown elements 15, so that clamping element 3 and thus the entire
holder 2 is fixed in position. Guide tube 6 is pushed into a clamping
retainer 12 of flexible loop forming means 11, and the front guide tube 7
is pulled away from the leading end of the wire, which is now located in
its threading-in position. Although clamping of the staple wire 13 has
been released, it is held in non-positive engagement between felt pads 8
and 9 in such a way that it cannot shift during further handling. The
leading end of the wire can now be introduced into a transport device 14
mounted on the device. The length of the exposed leading end of the wire
is such that prior to transport device 14, it receives a slight curvature
which preloads the leading end of the wire 13, resulting in easy infeed
into transport device 14.
In a deviation from the embodiment depicted, holder 2 can also have a
different configuration (not depicted) adapted to the particular
conditions on the apparatus.
The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment;
however, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications can be
effected by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from
the scope of the invention.
PARTS LIST
1 supply reel
1a reel flange
1b bore
1c radial rib
1d annual bead of reel flange 1a
2 holder
3 clamping element
3a upper clamping jaw
3b lower clamping jaw
3c notch
3d opening
3e tab
3f upper opening
3g lower opening
3h projection
3i projection
4 snap on bracket
4a web
4b u-shaped guide
5 carrier
5a shell-shaped half
5b shell-shaped half
5c film hinge
5d opening
6 guide tube
6a flange
7 front guide tube
8 felt pad
9 felt pad
10 threading-in device
11 flexible loop forming means
12 clamping retainer
13 staple wire
14 transport device
15 holddown element
16 spindle
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